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<p>Dropping a child at college can be a difficult and exciting experience for parent and child undergrad alike, as it marks a new chapter in everyone’s lives. Sherri Nelson, director of psychological services at Brown University, offered some advice for parents and new students on how to say goodbye in a positive way and help ease the transition for what may be their biggest goodbye to date.</p>

<p>A new statistical review calls into question studies that have been
taken as proof that antibiotic retreatment for chronic Lyme disease is
futile. That misunderstanding has led to medical guidance that
discourages retreatment and insurance coverage for it. Instead, the
authors of the review suggest, the proper reading of the studies and
their data is that they prove nothing.</p>

<p>A recent review of research co-authored by Rose McDermott highlights the role that genes play in political preferences, an area of study that began to draw significant attention in the last decade. McDermott speaks with Courtney Coelho about this growing field of research, its evolutionary roots, and whether it means anything for the prediction of future election results.</p>

<p>Neil Armstrong, aerospace engineer, U.S. Navy pilot, test pilot, university professor, and the first person to set foot on the Moon, died Saturday, Aug. 25, at the age of 82. James Head, professor of geological sciences, met Armstrong and the other Apollo astronauts early in the program and has this remembrance.</p>

<p>Louis Putterman has taught economics at Brown since 1980.&nbsp; During his
tenure here, he has widely published about a variety of economic issues. His
expert blog for PsychologyToday.com shares its title with that of his
new book, <em>The Good, The Bad, and The Economy: Does Human Nature Rule Out
a Better World?&nbsp; </em>This essay first appeared in <a href="http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/ProJo/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=VFBKLzIwMTIvMDgvMjM.&amp;pageno=MTk.&amp;entity=QXIwMTkwMQ..&amp;view=ZW50aXR5" target="_blank">The Providence Journal.</a></p>

<p>In <em>Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate</em>, political scientists and former Senate staffers Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove argue that the solution to recent criticism of the filibuster is not to do away with it. Arenberg speaks with Courtney Coelho about the history of Senate debate, how its use has been distorted in recent years and why reforms, not abolishment, are key to preserving Senate minority rights.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Christina H. Paxson, Brown’s 19th president, will deliver the Opening Convocation address to the undergraduate, graduate, and medical students who are beginning their studies at Brown. The ceremony begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, on the College Green. The president’s address and the proceedings <a href="
http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/president/2012-convocation">can be viewed live</a> on the University’s website.</p>

<p>In Dallas, Southeastern Massachusetts, and elsewhere public health
officials are deciding to suppress populations of disease-carrying
mosquitoes using aerial pesticide spraying. David Savitz, professor of
epidemiology and obstetrics and gynecology, says deciding to spray is a
judgment call, but that because the pesticides have been designed to be
harmful only to mosquitoes, the harm to human health has been
minimized.</p>